AKRON, Ohio (Feb. 15, 2013) – The ETSU Lady Buccaneer women’s tennis team fell in close battle Friday afternoon, suffering its first loss of the season, 4-3, to Akron at the Zips’ LaTuchie Tennis Center.

ETSU (2-1) won the doubles point and seemed on pace to secure a 3-0 start to the season, but Akron (4-5) stormed back to win four of the six singles points and steal the victory. Senior Antonia Kolovou (Larisa, Greece) was able to prevail in the No. 2 spot for her fifth consecutive win, but Olga Shkundina downed freshman Lyn Yee Choo (Kuching, Malaysia) at No. 4 to decide the match, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.

“We did not have a complete team effort today,” ETSU assistant coach Travis Sandlant said. “It’s always a tough task to win against a quality opponent like Akron. Everybody has to show up to play and that was not the case today.”

Although the Bucs took the doubles point, Choo and partner Anna Gerbasi (Caracas, Venezuela) suffered their first loss of the dual season, 8-1, to the ITA’s No. 43 duo of Prang Pantusart and Angelina Jogasuria. A couple of, 8-4, wins on courts two and three bailed out the young Lady Bucs.

Gerbasi bounced back to win at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-1, against the sister of her doubles opponent, Angelika Jogarsuria, but Choo was part of the quartet of Lady Bucs who were downed, ending Choo’s five-match winning streak. Aside from Choo’s defeat, juniors Giulia Andreazza (Balneario Camboriu, Brazil), Salma Dahbi (Marrakech, Morocco) and Sofia Espana (Mexico City) all lost in straight sets.

“Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow.”

Bouncing back won’t be easy, as ETSU faces its first ranked opponent of the season, No. 69 Oregon, at 9 a.m., inside the LaTuchie Tennis Center.

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For more information on ETSU women’s tennis, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis links.